TaylorMade's New R11S Driver and Fairway Woods

[mvmac]

This Wednesday I was able to attend a TaylorMade media day event yesterday at the La Costa Resort.  Want to thank all the great TMAG staffers (Christa, Michael, Dave and Mike) for having me and sharing this exciting line of prodcuts.  I was even able to play a round with Tom Kroll, the global product lines manager for woods.

For more on all of TaylorMade's New line of products, check out these links:

RocketBallz Driver, Fairway and Rescue

RocketBallz Irons and RocketBallz Max Irons

Penta TP5 Golf Balls

R11 S

Taylormade in 2012 is all about tuning and speed.  Improved aerodynamics, hotter faces, improved ball speed.

The flagship of TMAG (Taylormade Adidas Golf) is the R11 line.  The R11 was the most successful launch in the modern golf era.  The new R11s Driver and fairway metals is a step up from it's predecessor, which from all the tour success, (Luke Donald, Darren Clarke) and record sales is a pretty difficult feat.

TMAG is very much the leader is custom driver and woods fitting, evident by the new R11S with it's added adjustability, innovative crown design and improved aerodynamics.

At 460cc, the R11S is similar to the original R11, the new R11S features a flat-white crown color and black PVD face to improve alignment and accuracy off the tee. TMAG says the white crown color makes it appear even larger (2%) and adds an advantage given that TaylorMade testing indicates that the majority of golfers gain confidence at address from a head that appears large relative to the ball.

Tuning:

- 5 way ASP compared to 3 in the original R11.  Adjustable Sole Plate technology allows the decoupling of loft and face angle by using a sole plate to adjust face angle independent of loft sleeve setting.

- Flight Control Technology which is found on the adjustable sleeve when you adjust the loft and lie of the club.  Now with the R11S  you get 8 choices of lie and loft/face angles at range of 3° of lie and 3° loft/6° face angle for up to approximately 60 yards side-to-side trajectory adjustment and 3° and 1500 rpm of launch condition change.

- Delivers 4 mm of CG change from heel to toe to promote up to 20 yards of side-to-side trajectory bias. The R11S includes two MWT cartridges, one weighing 10-grams and one weighing 1-gram. Configuring the weights properly is intuitive: To set up a neutral bias, install the heavy (10-gram) weight in the toe; to create a draw bias, install the heavy weight in the heel. If a more neutral setting is desired, 4- and 6- gram cartridges are available separately, and so are other cartridges of varying weights, which allow you to change the club’s swing weight as well as promoting changes in trajectory.

Quote:

The R11S is a golfer’s dream come true; it’s the realization of every ounce of innovation, adjustability, and performance we could package in a bigger, more aerodynamic, white clubhead,” said Sean Toulon, executive vice president. “It would have been easy for our product creation team to rest on the laurels of the original R11TM driver, the most successful product we’ve ever created. Instead, we’re delivering golfers yet another significant advancement in adjustability and performance. And, with the proper fitting, we know golfers of all skill levels will be longer and straighter off the tee.

Speed

- The sole of the club is designed for better surface transfers because TMAG says that on the downswing air flow travels from the heel to toe.  Making these area more aerodynamic will improve speed.  The transition from face to crown has also been tweeked for better flow.

-Like every TaylorMade driver since the R500 Series (launched in 2002), the R11S incorporates TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone clubface technology, which dramatically expands the COR zone, which is the portion of the clubface that delivers maximum ball speed.

- Thick, Thin Crown- a new casting process allows the crown to be more responsive and able to move weight where it can be used for to increase ball speed.

- The CG is moved further apart and closer to the face to improve ball speed

My Take

I was very impressed with the R11S and hit it well.  What's great was that I was able to take the shaft in my current R11 (Graphite Design ADI 6) and put it into the R11S when I played yesterday.  I was really able to compare both heads, using the shaft I've been fitted for.

What's also cool is that two completely opposite golfers can play the same head.   Let's say a 9*, my specs might be 9* at 3* open and another golfer could tune the driver to be12* at 3* closed, same clubhead!

With this technology everyone should take the time and figure out what they need and customize the driver to their games.  Everything you need, face angle, loft, swingweight, shaft, lie angle is yours to be tuned to your specs.

Specs

Grip: TM FCT. Lofts: 9°, 10.5°, 12° in right-handed; 9° and 10.5° in left-handed. Street price: $399.

The R11S TP is equipped with an Aldila RIP Phenom TP 65 (X, S, R) 25 additional TP shaft choices are also available. Grip: TM FCT. Lofts: 9°, 10.5° in right-handed; 9° and 10.5° in left-handed.

Street price: $499.

The R11S Driver will be available in early February

R11 S Fairway Woods

Quote:

“t’s never been easier to tune performance in a fairway wood than with the new R11S,” said TaylorMade executive vice president Sean Toulon. “We’re confident that more golfers than ever before will unlock significant performance gains through a proper fitting and a few clicks of the wrench. The technologies we’ve incorporated into this clubhead are unparalleled.

-ASP will have 3 options

- improved FCT sleeve that allows the golfer to make an adjustment range of 3° of lie and 3° loft/6° face angle

-Forward CG for High Launch, Low Spin Performance.  R11S fairways employ pull-face construction to create a thin, light, fast clubface that promotes high ball speed. The crown and walls are made using our Ultra-Thin Wall (UTW) casting process to reach 0.6 mm at their thinnest point. The thin crown weighs less, and that weight is used to move the CG position forward. This forward location increases ball speed by reducing dynamic loft and creating better launch conditions. Though it’s slightly counterintuitive, we’ve found that rearward CG locations on fairways actually create a reverse vertical gear-effect, since impact dynamics are relative to the perpendicular of the head loft. This reverse vertical gear-effect produces

My Take

Very nice fairway wood but all you're going to be hearing about is the Rocketballz fairway woods because of the distance gains.  But if you want a fairway wood that is customized for your game, give it a second look.

Shaft and Club Specs

R11S fairways are standard length (3-wood / 43.5”) and equipped with Aldila RIP Phenom 70 shaft, a 70-gram shaft designed with a medium-firm tip profile. RIP shafts incorporate reverse inter-laminar material layup to more stability at impact. This package delivers more distance and control without the harsh feel associated with some firmer tip shafts.

Shaft: RIP Phenom 70 shafts in X, S, R, and M flexes Grip: TM FCT grip Lofts: 14°, 15.5°, 17°, 19° and 22°. Street price: $249

TP Shafts: RIP Phenom 80 in X, S, R plus 25 additional TP shaft choices TP Street price: $349

[tristanhilton85]

The white crown definitely has grown on me.  This is a good looking driver and will probably sell like crazy.... maybe if the original R11 gets down low enough after these come out I'll pick one up.

[Beachcomber]

I like the R11 TP that Im playing with now. But I'm going to go demo an R11S TP in February to see what that 460cc can do. Can you comment on any increased distance??

[kevin.chan]

TM 's model is changing faster than any other brand in the market.

Cant keep up !

LOL !

[the19thhole]

Again mvmac great writeup - Currently gaming an R11 so would it really be worth upgrading to the R11s. Just can't see me getting that much improvement to justify the expense.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by the19thhole

Again mvmac great writeup - Currently gaming an R11 so would it really be worth upgrading to the R11s. Just can't see me getting that much improvement to justify the expense.

I agree with sticking with the R11 if it's working.  Reasons to consider the R11S

- 460cc head compared to 440 R11

- more adjustability, if you need or want it

- increased ballspeed because the cg is moved closer to the face

- improved aerodynamics with the sole

But would recommend you get a chance try both clubs side to side when it's available.  I don't see the above making a HUGE difference if you have a shaft and ball that fits your game

[the19thhole]

Originally Posted by mvmac

I agree with sticking with the R11 if it's working.  Reasons to consider the R11S

- 460cc head compared to 440 R11

- more adjustability, if you need or want it

- increased ballspeed because the cg is moved closer to the face

- improved aerodynamics with the sole

But would recommend you get a chance try both clubs side to side when it's available.

Thanks for the reply. I'm loving my R11 and do hit it well (most of the time LOL). Increased ballspeed is always welcome and I will try and compare them when I get the chance. Does the 20cc extra "look" bigger at address. My current one just looks and feels right, but hey I will give it a go and see when I get the opportunity.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by the19thhole

Thanks for the reply. I'm loving my R11 and do hit it well (most of the time LOL). Increased ballspeed is always welcome and I will try and compare them when I get the chance. Does the 20cc extra "look" bigger at address. My current one just looks and feels right, but hey I will give it a go and see when I get the opportunity.

I also edited my post a little late to explain it a little more.

Yes it does look bigger, they did a nice job with it.  Mostly looks bigger from front to back rather than  toe to heel

[Maverick]

What happened to post 7 of 7?

[Noonan]

TMAG I'll be back when you release a driver in black again.  I still hate the white drivers, they have not grown on me.

[R11driver]

Been there. Done that. I have an R11 driver and 3 wood in my cellar collecting dust if anyone is interested. They work as advertised as far as the adjustments are concerned but the driver is not very forgiving. If you don't nail the sweet spot, it doesnt' go. The 3 wood, I could just never hit very well. Not sure why..

[Vinny29]

What is the flex of the shafts? What kind of condition are they in? How much do you want for them?

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Vinny29

What is the flex of the shafts? What kind of condition are they in? How much do you want for them?

I think you're confused on what thread this is

[R11driver]

Sent you a PM

[ohiolefty]

I just hope the launch of the R11S brings the price of the original R11 down even further (retailing everywhere for about 299, now).

As for the fairway woords...the Rocketballz thing seems interesting, but I can't buy a product called "Rocketballz". I just can't. I'd be mortified to tell someone what club it was after hitting a nice shot with it. I'll just wait till some other company (essentially) rips off whatever technological gains the RBZ fairway makes, and buy that one. Plus, I'm happy with my R9 fairway.

[FGUSA]

I know exactly how you feel. I was turned off by the name but I just had a chance to hit the R11s and the Rocketballz on our launch monitor and they were money. With the R11s I gained about 4 consistant yards...but with the Rocketballz 3 wood I gained 9 yards so that bad boys going in my bag.

9 yard  gain? I'll just tell people its the new "RBZ" not Rocketballz

[badfish74]

Personally I love the name Rocketballz.  Kinda brings out the inner Beavis and Butthead in me.  Really though if it is that much longer I would think it could be called Sally and would still wind up in bags everywhere.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Noonan

TMAG I'll be back when you release a driver in black again.  I still hate the white drivers, they have not grown on me.

Lots of guys do paint jobs -- see frank viola at aceofclubstp.com for pics at his website.